ChronoEclipse
by Winter1
Summary: What happens when even time is put into shadow? The story of Magus, the most misunderstood character in the series. Rated PG for possible violence and language.
1. The Beginning

Chrono Eclipse: What happens when even time is set in the shadows...?  
  
"Majesty, no, you have to concentrate. Focus your power."  
  
"I am focusing my power, old one," growled the young prince. Frustration painted on his face, he concentrates once again, trying to bring his mystical powers to bear. "EMBRE!" As the boy shouts, he closes his eyes, expecting the bright light of a low level Fire spell. When he opens his eyes, he sees...nothing.  
  
"That is enough for today, Master Janus. There is no point in getting frustrated to the point where you begin to hurt yourself. You are dismissed from class. And make sure you take that fur-ball cat with you. Oh, by the way, her majesty, the Queen, has decided that you are to dine with her tonight. So make sure that you are at the main hall of the palace by 26 cycles."  
  
"Thank you sir." With a bow, the boy walks out of the training facility, and finds his cat. "Come along, Alfador, practice is over." A purple kitten fades into existence underneath the building, and follows Janus along the main road. "What I don't get is, why is it that everyone tells me I have all this power, but I can't even muster the mana to cast Ember, the lowest level of fire spell, the easiest of all magic to use!"  
  
Alfador merely miaows, giving the very feline impression that he is paying attention, but doesn't really care. Janus picks up his cat, and scratches him behind his left ear, careful not to touch the right ear. "I made that mistake once, never again."  
  
When Janus was first born, he was given Alfador, to be his familiar; a friend, a protector, and a confidante. On his first birthday, he was playing with Alfador, and pet him behind his right ear. Alfador, even though still very much a kitten, went berserk, and almost killed him, especially from one brutal slash from breast to pelvis. To this day, he still has that scar. Absent-mindedly, he scratches at it. "It's kind of funny though, isn't it, that I don't remember any of that. I don't even remember having you before then, but mother and Schala always tell me that we were never apart."  
  
Schala was Janus' big sister, and his only sibling. Since Ellana Zeal, his mother, the queen, was always so busy, Schala had basically raised Janus. Schala had this talisman, a necklace, that made her magic powers super strong. She was the second-most powerful person in the entire Zeal Kingdom. 


	2. Ruins of an Ancient Culture...

Chrono Eclipse: What happens when even time is set in the shadows...? Part two  
  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters, nor am I making any kind of money off this story. These are all property of Squaresoft, a great and powerful company that is too big to notice a small fry like me. (I hope.)  
  
  
  
The most powerful, of course, was Schala. She was the most powerful person, in fact, in the entire history of the kingdom of Zeal. Part of that was because of her pendant.  
  
"So, we've got quite some time until we have to go to dinner, Alfador. What do you want to do?" Of course, all the cat did was purr. "Yeah, we can do that, but we have to move quick. It's on the other side of the continent from here." The location Janus was talking about was the forbidden ruins, about a cycle's run from the palace, and half that from the training grounds. The ruins resembled nothing more than a big, blue pyramid, but supposedly, at one time, there was a powerful kingdom that was centered there. "Obviously not too powerful, if they aren't there anymore," Janus sneered.  
  
There was very little known about this empire that used to be. The only recorded history was of the first Royal family of Zeal, and how they ascended from below. You see, the Kingdom of Zeal is a floating island that is held up by the power of an incredibly powerful artifact known as the Mammon Machine. This machine was connected to Lavos, the god of the people of Zeal. Underneath this island was a frozen continent of neanderthals, people who couldn't use magic. That was why they couldn't ascend to Zeal. You had to have at least a spark of magic in you to navigate the Skyway, the transportation from Zeal to the frozen continent.  
  
This Kingdom was obviously very powerful, because a field of powerful energy, which lasted, even now, surrounded these ruins. Even Queen Zeal, while her power was supplanted by the Mammon Machine, couldn't break through the seal. That's part of the reason why so little is known about these people. Only Gaspar, the Guru of Time, had any idea what was in there, and he had been missing for years.  
  
A half cycle later, Janus and Alfador arrived at their destination, the forbidden ruins. This time, however, it didn't seem quite so forbidding, Janus mused. I wonder why?  
  
As the pair got closer to the ruins, they noticed that the blue light was coming not from a barrier shield, but a glowing power from within the ruins. "What, the barrier's down? We should go tell Dalton!" Janus exclaimed to his cat. Dalton was the head of the research and mystical science department of the Zeal Kingdom. They investigated all the new forms of magic, and found ways to harness it to the benefit of the Kingdom. This group had discovered and augmented the Mammon Machine. Dalton was also the head of the military force of Zeal.  
  
Alfador turned to face Janus, with a look that said, "Hey, you wanted adventure, here it is." Janus was in no mood to argue with that.  
  
Entering the ground of the ruins, the light faded away to a background hue. It seemed the light was only there for appearance sake, maybe to maintain the look of a force field around the ruins, whenever it had failed. Some king of safety precaution, to be sure.  
  
As they walked through the entrance, a different kind of light came on, a darker, almost purple haze, that seemed to match Alfador's fur perfectly. Of course, it also matched Janus' robes, because they were the same color. The place was amazing. Despite being quite ancient, there were pillars everywhere, still standing, and chests full of what must have been there money. There were statues in marble, and fine bowls and vases on pedestals surrounding the area. The force field had probably kept them protected from the elements and raiders for all this time. How odd that it had chosen now to fall.  
  
Walking to the back of this first chamber, Janus spotted a throne, encrusted with gold and jewelry. Beside it, he saw a scythe, that one day may have been a magnificent weapon, but was now little more than an ornamental piece of decoration. Out of the corner of his eye, Janus saw movement behind a curtain. "Who's there?" Janus asked. Alfador jumped off his master's shoulder, and to the armrest of the throne, and let out a feral hiss. From behind the curtain stumbled a large, green monster…a goblin!  
  
  
  
A.N. Sorry that the first chapter was so short, this is my first fic, so I'm not really sure what protocol is. I've been meaning to write this for a long time, and started to put it up on the CCSB at GameFaqs, but then it fell off the boards. Oh well, I'd rather put it here and see what people have to say, before I submit it to Square as a game idea. I'm also in the process of writing two Final Fantasy fictions: one is a story of a young King Baron, a kind of prequel to FFIV; and the other is a story focusing almost entirely on summoned monsters, or espers, or whatever you want to call them. Same difference. 


	3. Let's get it on!

Chrono Eclipse: What happens when even time is set in the shadows...? Part two  
  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters, nor am I making any kind of money off this story. (Yet, but who knows what will happen in the future!) These are all property of Squaresoft, a great and powerful company that is too big to notice a small fry like me. (I hope.) However, the story is totally mine, and anyone ripping it off will have a similar incidence with their testicles.  
  
  
  
'A goblin,' thought Janus? 'I've only read about these in books before. I wonder if it's dangerous?' From Alfador's screeching, it was pretty safe to assume it was. Weaponless, and without knowing how to cast magic, Janus grabbed the ancient scythe from where it rested, and assumed an uneasy ready stance. "I don't know what you want, creature, but leave me and my cat out of it!"  
  
The goblin took a step forward, and looked curiously at Janus. "What a sssstrange looking boy thou art. And what didsssst thou call yon animal? A kaht? Verily, I care not what you refer to it assss, but it dosssst look like a fine ssssnack!" And with that, the goblin lunged at Alfador, totally ignoring Janus.  
  
Most creatures of the spheres know that cats are both smart, and reasonably fast. Apparently, the goblin wasn't one of them. Alfador leapt into the air, and with a sickening thud, the goblin tripped over the throne, landing face first on the marble. The goblin stood up, and looked at the boy, with blood running down his muzzle. "Issss that your kaht?" he asked Janus.  
  
"Yes, why?"  
  
"Yon kaht jusssst made me bleed. And now, verily, you sssshalt perissssh!" And once again, the goblin lunged, this time with a different target; this time, at Janus.  
  
With a shout, the young boy dropped his weapon, and ran in the opposite direction, playing a game of chase with the foul creature. Unfortunately, Janus wasn't used to running around in a ruined temple, and after a few moments, introduced himself to the floor. Quickly turning around, Janus found himself face to face with the drooling, smelly goblin. "That wassss almosssst fun, human. But now thou hasssst made me hungry. And now, I sssshalt ssssnack on thee, insssstead of your kaht."  
  
A flash of purple, and the goblin was on his back. Janus wasted no time in getting up, and running to the other side of the room, putting the throne between him and his foe. He looked over at the goblin, and saw none other than his precious Alfador, ferociously attacking the goblin. "Alfador!" Janus yelled, not knowing what to do. With a jolt of inspiration, Janus grabbed his scythe off of the floor, and dashed for the goblin.  
  
Unfortunately, once again, Janus had never received training with any weapon, let alone one requiring much skill and technique, such as a scythe. Janus swung once, and totally missed the goblin, and the scythe struck shrilly on the floor. After recovering, Janus swung again, and finally hit pay dirt: he hit the goblin in the head with the blade. However, goblin heads are among the thickest known to man, and the blade snapped right in half, leaving Janus virtually defenseless.  
  
Receiving a second wind after the blow to the head, the goblin grabbed Alfador, and flung him to the other side of the room. Alfador was wrapped around one of the pillars like so many wet noodles. "Alfador!" Janus screamed. In a blind rage, Janus attacked the goblin, swinging wildly, only landing any hits, because the goblin was so surprised at his fury. However, shock only lasts for so long. The goblin grabbed hold of the stick, which was all that was left of the scythe, and tore it out of Janus' grasp, and kicked the boy to the ground, against the throne.  
  
"Alright human, I have had enough! I'm going to eat your kaht, and then, I'm going to eat thee!" And with that, the goblin walked over to Alfador's limp form, laying on the floor.  
  
"No, Alfador…" With barely enough energy left to stand, the young prince raises himself up enough to lean against the throne, as the goblin reaches his cat, and picks him up. "Alfador…NO!" At the loud noise from the little boy, the goblin turned around. "You will not harm him!"  
  
A soldier was walking by on patrol, when he noticed that the ruins were now glowing purple, instead of blue. "I've got to report this to Dalton," he said, and hurried back to the Palace.  
  
"Isssst that magick thou art ssssummoning? Impossssible! The Magussss isssst the only human who can call forth the powers arcane!"  
  
"Looks like it isn't anymore!" said a voice that was part Janus, and part something else.  
  
"M-m-m-m-masssster? Thou sssspeaketh jusssst like the masssster…oh no!"  
  
Janus puts his left hand in front of him, and begins to speak words that he's never before heard, as though something else is speaking through him. "Soirtu…" A small ball of dark energy begins to grow in his left hand, and he puts out his right hand"…descenhio…" Another energy ball appears in his right hand, and he puts his hands together in front of him. "…probaymenfortu…" The two dark energy balls become one, and it doubles in size, to about that of a baseball, and he brings both his hands, and the ball, to his right side. "…descenhio…" The ball gets even bigger, now about the size of a melon. "…PROBAYMENFORTU!" As he shouts this last word, Janus throws his arms forward, and with them, the energy ball he has been nursing. The ball shoots out, and leaves a purple streak behind it. The ball heads unerringly for the goblin's chest, who is struck dumber with shock. The ball flies through the goblin's chest, the inertia carrying him against a wall, where he crashes. The goblin, as the flicker of life leaves him, looks at his chest, and mouths the word, 'How,' but just doesn't have it in him, and his body goes limp.  
  
However, on the other side of the chamber, the spell has taken all the energy out of Janus, and he struggles to make it over to Alfador. Once he reaches him, Alfador meows brightly and jumps up onto his master's shoulder, which is all it takes to knock Janus to the ground. Alfador licks Janus' face, and curls up on his chest and falls asleep, somehow knowing that Janus will be out for a while.  
  
In his last moments before oblivion, Janus has one chilling thought. 'Those things I said…they were the language of the magi…they meant…DarkBomb!' 


	4. More than the eyes can hide...

Chrono Eclipse, chapter 4  
  
  
  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters, nor am I making any kind of money off this story. (Yet, but who knows what will happen in the future!) These are all property of Squaresoft, a great and powerful company that is too big to notice a small fry like me. (I hope.) However, the story is totally mine, and anyone ripping it off will have a similar incidence with their testicles.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Good job, Lieutenant. You did right in bringing this information straight to me. You have told no one else, correct?"  
  
The soldier who had happened by the ruins bristled nervously. "Correct, Lord Dalton, sir. However, I am afraid you are slightly mistaken. I am only a corporal…" and with that he trailed off, realizing what Dalton had done.  
  
"Smart man. I want you to take another soldier who you trust with your life, go to those ruins, and guard them. I will accompany you there, but first I must make a report to the Queen of this news. Be at the gates in half a cycle with your friend and full combat gear, and wait for me there" said Dalton.  
  
" Sir, yes sir!" And with that, the soldier was off.  
  
'Hmm,' Dalton mused, 'something is finally going down at the ruins…'  
  
Later that night, when Janus failed to show up for dinner, the Queen was in a rage. "How dare that child disobey me."  
  
Schala took Janus' side, like she always did. "To be honest, Mother, you weren't going to be here but long enough to ask him how his training was going."  
  
Ellana flew into a rage at that, and slapped Schala hard enough to drop her to the ground. "You have the nerve to speak to me like that? Don't you ever back talk me again! Besides, you're always taking his side anyway. What about loyalty to the crown? What about loyalty to your mother?!" Her voice rose as she spoke, and it had come to a shriek by the time she finished talking, and finally began to calm down. For her part, Schala just stood up, and looked at the floor, nursing her bruised cheek and ego. "Well," said the Queen, changing the subject, "someone's got to find him. But where could the brat be?"  
  
"I'll go to the training grounds where he was last seen," volunteered Schala, and with that, made her leave.  
  
As she left through one set of doors, Dalton came in through another, and bowed before his Queen. With an arch of her brow, she motioned the general to rise. "My lady, please forgive the intrusion, but I have information of imminent urgency for you."  
  
"Well?" said the Queen. "I don't have all day."  
  
"One of my soldiers, Garrison, was on duty, and was close enough to the ruins to see a weird light coming from it. Instead of blue, as it usually is, it was glowing an 'eerie purple hue,' as he put it. I have Garrison and one of his comrades at the gates of the palace, awaiting me to go inspect the ruins. I ask your leave, majesty."  
  
"A purple light, eh?" Zeal asked, mostly to herself. Shaking her head, Zeal pinned Dalton with a piercing look. "I will accompany you on this mission, General."  
  
"But majesty, the ruins are largely unexplored. Should there be a trap, or some kind of danger…"  
  
"Silence, General. I am not one of the snow-apes from below. I am Queen Ellana Zeal, and I have the power of the Mammon Machine behind me. Nothing can stand against me, except the almighty Lavos, blessed be the name."  
  
"Blessed be the name." Dalton repeated.  
  
Later that day, as the day was nearing its end, Zeal, Dalton, Garrison, and his fellow soldier had finally reached their destination. The ruins no longer glowed purple, but instead the same hue as they normally did. Upon closer inspection, they found the barrier still to be gone, and entered the temple, where shortly they came upon Alfador and Janus, and the still smoking remains of the goblin.  
  
"What on earth happened here?" cried Zeal. Alfador woke up, and hissed at the Queen. "Hmm, so the boy is still alive then. Good, I suppose. Dalton, get your soldiers to put together a litter for him. General, I have seen enough here, I am returning." And with a wave of her hands, the imposing Queen was gone.  
  
"Well, don't just stand there, fetch something to carry the boy back." The soldiers hurried to put together a sled.  
  
While Garrison and his companion were cutting down branches, Dalton inspected the goblin. 'What on earth?' he thought. The creature was one he hadn't seen before, although it resembled the creatures that Dalton had seen painted on the walls of the oldest of the snow-apes' caves. He looked at the hole in his chest, and the smoke still rising from it. Before getting too close, Dalton severed the creature's head with a single stroke of his sword, just to make sure it was dead. 'Could Janus possibly have mustered this kind of power? Impossible…or is it…' 


End file.
